Snooker News

Ormskirk & District Amateur Snooker League -

Administrator - Barry Adlington | baisie147@hotmail.com |

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Ormskirk & District Amateur Snooker League

(Weekly Report 09/04/24)

The Miss Rule For 2023-24 Season

The miss rule will remain exactly the same as last season as we all felt it worked very well so it is as follows for the forthcoming 2023-24 season.

In DIVISION 2 LEAGUE MATCHES, ALL SECOND DIVISION CUP MATCHES & ALL DIVISION 2 INDIVIDUAL & PAIRS MATCHES there will be ONE compulsory miss awarded and NO further misses called after this.

If a FIRST DIVISION team OR player is playing a SECOND DIVISION team OR player then just TWO COMPULSORY MISSES ONLY TO BE CALLED AND THEN MOVE ON SO NO DISCRETION GIVEN TO THE MARKER

In DIVISION 1 LEAGUE MATCHES, ALL FIRST DIVISION MATCHES & ALL DIVISION 1 INDIVIDUAL & PAIRS MATCHES then the rule is UNCHANGED from previous seasons so it's TWO compulsory misses awarded then over to the marker's discretion.

Alternate Picks

Alternate pairings to now be used in LEAGUE MATCHES & KENNEY CUP GROUP STAGE MATCHES. Home captain to provide the first name followed by the away captain providing two names. After the completion of the first two frames a third name to be nominated by the home captain followed by two names from the away captain. Once again, and finally, the fifth name to be nominated by the home captain followed by the final two names from the away captain.

Player Handicaps 2023-24 List

The Player Handicap list can be found on our website under the DOCUMENTS section. Representatives are expected to print this out and display in your appropriate club and maybe a good idea would be for all captains or a team player to take a picture of it and store on your phone. THE PLAYER HANDICAP LIST WILL BE UPDATED ONCE DURING THE ENTIRETY OF THE SEASON WHICH WILL BE AT THE CHRISTMAS BREAK BUT THE COMMITTEE HAVE THE POWER TO AMEND ANY PLAYER'S HANDICAP AT ANY TIME IF WE FEEL IT IS INCORRECT SO OBVIOUSLY UNFAIR. Thank you for your co-operation in advance.

White Balls available to League Clubs at Trade price

Dear club members, we have managed to source a further supply of White Balls from Thurstons at trade price and happy to supply these at cost to any clubs who would like to replace their white balls. Over time white balls become lighter than the rest of the set of balls due to the constant abrasion they suffer striking other balls and the abrasive nature of our chalk from our tips over years of use. This then causes the white to become �lighter� hence the phrase you will have heard of 'Light White'. If playing with a �light white� you may notice that it reacts differently on shots to what you would expect meaning shots with top/follow through are harder to play and shots with screw back are effectively easier. Sometimes you may stun the white and it actually comes back 3 or 4 inches causing you to lose position!

Balls should be within 3 grammes weight of each other. The whites we have are all around 142 grammes. The league now has an accurate scale so please contact Mike Davies if you would like your snooker balls weighed prior to purchase or to help you match them up as best as you can.

We believe as a snooker league that every team should have the best equipment when practising and inviting opponent teams to their club and a good quality correctly weighted white is integral to this.

Each White is priced at just �9.12.

SIX WHITE BALLS ARE NOW AVAILABLE.

Early Start Matches

Please be aware that matches played at Farmers Club will ALWAYS be a 7.30pm start. Thank you for your co-operation in advance.

Reminder � Submitting Results

Can I ask all team captains that if you are borrowing a player from another team (within the league rules) that you text myself (Barry Adlington) IMMEDIATELY to inform me of this and I will place that players name in your team list. This enables you to submit your result correctly. Thank you for your co-operation on this matter.

Neutral Venues Now On Website

Neutral venues for Semi-finals & Finals can now be viewed on our website. This obviously makes it easier for players to view their information without having to contact myself or wait until they are next in their club to consult the monthly circular. Circular.

Olympic Bowling Club Dress Code

I have been asked by the Olympic BC committee to remind everyone around the league of their dress code when visiting the club. Smart jeans and trainers are now allowed to be worn but they still have the minimum requirement of a collared shirt or collared t-shirt. This has not been adhered to recently and can I remind everyone that we must respect the club rules for future visits. Thank you.

Division 1

This time around we saw the final week of league action in the top flight of the Ormskirk & District Amateur Snooker League for the 2023-24 season.

After the euphoria of clinching the league title last week, Fleetwood Hesketh SSC came up against last season�s Champions in Stanley Club A and at the conclusion of affairs it saw an excellent 4-2 triumph recorded by the Burscough-based, Stanley A side. With the league sealed last week it was possible the Fleetwood boys had one eye on next week�s Le Rose Cup semi-final as they now chase an incredible �treble� this campaign but still a very solid win for the Stanley Club A team. The contest started with the opening two frames being divided up between both outfits to see the match nicely poised at 1-1. Frames three and four saw the Stanley A lads move up a gear as they grabbed both frames to move into an authoritative 3-1 advantage. The final two frames, once again, saw each side take one frame each and this was enough to see the Stanley Club A guys through to their victory. This outcome sees the Fleetwood side�s winning margin at an impressive six points and, as previously mentioned, they will be going all out to try and grab a remarkable �treble� in the League title, Kenney Cup & Le Rose Cup only previously done twice before in the past but never as a complete handicapped league. The Stanley A side finished in a disappointing seventh. The match also saw the Fleetwood's, incredible skipper in Gareth Hibbott in sensational form as he signed off for the league campaign with his third century as he engineered a wonderful 100 break in his frame victory. This was, unbelievably, Gareth�s fourteenth �Break of the Week� accolade of the season, a truly staggering statistic!!!

Gareth�s break started after his opponent missed. Gareth took his first red into a centre pocket screwing back for the black ball. He dispatched that black ball and there was a few loose reds around a small cluster and took them with black and blue balls to soon reach thirty. On potting his fifth red, followed by the pink where he deliberately held that spot to open up a few more reds. The next red followed but Gareth came a little straight on the black which he tried to force in creating an angle but had a nice slice of luck as the black rattled, and came across the cushion and dropped into that opposite pocket. This left Gareth out of position on his next red but he certainly rescued things as he took a double with aplomb to continue his break. This still left him awkward as he was faced with a very thin cut black and, once again, he dispatched it with aplomb and got nicely onto his next red as he neared the half-century mark. Gareth then went on to take another three reds, all with high valued colours, with that superb potting and precise positional play. He then potted the final red with the rest which was followed by the pink as he screwed up the table for the yellow ball. Gareth took yellow, green and brown but off that brown ball he was a little out of position so he made sure of the blue ball with complete aplomb to seal another magnificent century break, his third league hundred of an extremely successful campaign. Gareth unfortunately missed a tricky pink ball to bring an end to an amazing break.

Gareth joined the Ormskirk League at the commencement of the 1999-00 season and represented Southport SC every year since its sad closure just after the conclusion of the 2011-12 campaign. With Southport SC, Gareth won the First Division Title on no fewer than seven occasions, four Kenney Cup triumphs within the space of five seasons including a hat trick of wins and two Le Rose Cup successes. Gareth then joined Les Dodd SC and has helped his side capture the Division One crown for four seasons but then they moved to Southport Conservative Club early in the 2016-17 season were they won a further two crowns to make it a fantastic six consecutive titles. At the start of the 2018-19 season they moved again to Fleetwood Hesketh SSC and have now sealed an incredible eighth successive titles. On a personal note, Gareth has the huge distinction of recording a run of 73 matches unbeaten, spanning over three and a half years starting on 12th October 2010 and ending 4th February 2014, an astounding fact particularly in one frame matches. Gareth has also been Individual Champion of the League a grand total of eight times in 2007-08, 2009- 10, 2013-14, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2021-22 and yet again last season in 2022-23. He has also been Pairs Handicap Champion on four occasions with his partner Andy Booth. With the invention on the UK League Snooker Tournament by site founder, Richard Ormiston in 2009, Gareth has been an ever present in the team representing the Ormskirk League for all the fourteen years it has been held and he has been an invaluable member of the team as he has helped us capture the Title for now a sensational four times. Firstly, in 2010, in Manchester and again in 2012 where we triumphed at the superb South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester. A third Title was magnificently achieved in 2016 at The Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds were he won the 'Player of the Tournament' award with a magnificent ten wins from ten matches played. Our incredible fourth crown was won just a few months back, again at the Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds were Gareth, once again, took the player of the tournament award with a majestic eight wins out of eight in his frames played and as well as that took the highest break award too with a magnificent 113 clearance. Gareth also won the ApolloBet.com Merseyside Snooker Open in 2016 and won it again in early 2023, a very prestigious event steeped in history. Gareth won the Merseyside Champion of Champions in 2019 representing our Ormskirk League and earlier on the same day he captained his Fleetwood Hesketh side, again representing our Ormskirk League, win the Merseyside Team Champion of Champions title. He won that Merseyside Individual Champion of Champions for the fifth time as few weeks ago as Defending Champion and just last weekend he became the Mersey Masters Champion. An achievement of such high magnitude!!!

The match this final week with the most meaning saw second placed, Upholland Social, go into battle with Olympic BC B, sitting in third spot, in a shoot-out for the runners-up slot were the Upholland boys just needed to avoid defeat but the Olympic B side needed a win to prevail. At the end of an excellent contest it saw neither team able to cement victory in a 3-3 draw. The match began with the Upholland Social lads straight out the blocks as they captured both the initial two frames to move into a very useful 2-0 advantage. The next two frames saw each side win one frame apiece and this was all the Upholland outfit needs as they continued to have control at 3-1. The last two frames saw the Olympic BC B lads, much to their credit, battle back by sealing both frames to grab a share of the spoils. The result sees the Upholland guys take a very well deserved runners-up position whilst the Olympic B team ended in a very close-up and solid third spot. The encounter saw Olympic B�s, Steve Evans Jnr amongst the breaks again with a very nice break of 38 in his frame success.

Aughton Institute E met Aughton Institute A in the final Aughton �Derby� contest of the campaign and after a very close affair where there was never any more than a frame in the match as a 3-3 stalemate was the outcome. This contest commenced with the first two frames being split between both sides to see this match very well balanced at 1-1. The middle two frames also saw both outfits grabbing a frame each as the match was still there for the taking at 2-2. Once again, in frames five and six, it saw them both divided up between the two sides which took the match through to a drawn contest. This outcome sees the Aughton E lads complete proceedings in a creditable fourth place, some eleven points adrift of the Champions. Meanwhile, the Aughton A boys finished in fifth slot, just a further two points behind their club compatriots but their season is far over as they have a Le Rose Cup semi-final to contest. The match also saw Aughton A�s, Dan Jones in fantastic nick with a terrific, half-century break of 50 in his frame victory.

The other match played this week saw Scarisbrick NSC clash with Rainford X SSC and it was the Scarisbrick lads who finished their campaign on a high note with a solid 4-2 success. The match began frames one and two being divided between both teams to see it delicately poised at 1-1. The next two frames also saw both outfits clinch one frame each as the encounter lay in the melting pot at 2-2. The concluding two frames saw the Scarisbrick lads move up a gear at a vital stage as they grabbed both frames to earn their hard-earned win. The result sees the Rainford X side finish in sixth whilst the Scarisbrick NSC side ended in eighth. The match also saw Scarisbrick�s, Dennis Woodward in very good touch with a nice break of 34 in his frame win.

Other notable breaks this week were � D Jones (Aughton Institute E) 31 & A Radford (Stanley Club A) 31.